- bass (adj.)
- "low" (voice or instrument, ranging from the E flat below the bass stave to the F above it), late 14c., originally base, influenced by It. basso, from L.L. bassus "short, low" (see base (adj.)). Meaning "bass-viol" is from 1702; that of "double-bass" is from 1927.
- bass (n.)
- "fish," 15c. corruption of O.E. bærs "a fish, perch," from P.Gmc. base *bars- "sharp" (cf. M.Du. baerse, M.H.G. bars, Ger. Barsch "perch," Ger. barsch "rough"), from PIE base *bhors- "bristle." The fish was so called for its dorsal fins.